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VOICES FROM WALES - EIGHTEEN OF FIFTY-TWO, THOMAS SKEEL – A NAPOLEONIC SOLDIER FROM LAUGHARNE, CARMARTHENSHIRE, PART 2
In the second part of Thomas Skeel the 15 minute video showcases John Bradshaw recollecting the diaries of the landlord of The Ship Inn, Laugharne, Thomas Skeel. Skeel enlists into the 40 th Regiment of Foot and talks about his part in the fight against Napoleon in the Peninsular Wars of the early 19 th Century.
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AmeriCymru: Hi Elizabeth and many thanks for agreeing to this interview. Care to introduce your collection The Language of Bones for our readership?
Elizabeth: The Language of Bones: American Journeys Through Bardic Verse features Celtic-style poems that bear witness to the power of place and cultural memory. It is a poetic journey from Jamestown, Virginia, to Muir Woods, California, that gives voice to the unspoken, the overlooked, and the forgotten. As I walked along paths that bear the weight of so many triumphs and tragedies, I felt compelled to document those stories in a manner that reflected the timeless elements of the terrain. Traditional Welsh meters like the rhupunt, the clogyrnach, the cyhydedd hir, and the cywydd llosgyrnog provided such a structure and added a layer of musicality.
The topics addressed in the collection are as diverse as the American landscape. Readers will encounter Native American legends, historical events, and current events. Since we Virginians love our ghost stories, a few spirits even make an appearance! In summary, the book is an invitation to explore America, both past and present, from unusual perspectives. Copies are available from Kelsaybooks.com and on Amazon.
AmeriCymru: You write "bardic verse in the Celtic style" and you "find traditional Welsh meters particularly alluring." What is at the root of your fascination with these forms and how would you rate their contemporary relevance?
Elizabeth: Bardic verse is, of course, meant to be read aloud. For me, doing so is a transformative experience. There is something magical about hearing contemporary poetry written in Welsh forms that were codified in the fourteenth century. In some ways the rhythms are almost primal.
I should note that all of the poems in the collection are in English because that is my native language. Welsh bardic forms seem to have a universal dimension that transfers into English quite well. Perhaps rhyme and meter feed an instinctive hunger for predictable patterns.
Many contemporary poets have embraced free verse to the exclusion of all else, but I foresee a renewed interest in traditional forms. Western artistry has long celebrated balance and symmetry, and formal verse extends that aesthetic to linguistic expression. Musical culture offers a few examples of our innate preference for patterns. Just listen to people flounder when they attempt to sing the concluding note of a piece that does not end in its home key! Of course, rhyme is still prevalent in song lyrics.
I think that traditional poetic styles speak to the heart on levels beyond understanding. The trick is to make both the language and the message meaningful. Convoluted lines that engage in linguistic gymnastics for the sake of rhyme come across as contrived and awkward. Such contortions mar the beauty of the form and detract from the meaning. However, formal verse that rises to the challenge of accessibility is most certainly relevant, and a number of modern publications recognize that. Many of the poems in my collection previously appeared in literary journals in the United States and the United Kingdom. I hope that The Language of Bones will spark greater interest in conveying contemporary messages through traditional poetic forms.
AmeriCymru: “The intricate syllabic forms, cross-rhyming, internal echoes, and circular returns of Celtic verse forms are not within the competence of every poet, even those skilled in set forms, but Elizabeth Spragins shows us that they can be wielded with power and grace." Can you tell us how you became acquainted with these forms and how would you advise others to study them?
Elizabeth: I first heard the Welsh language when I happened upon a Celtic radio station that featured Siân James, a traditional folk singer and harpist. Her music had an ethereal quality that mesmerized me even though I had no idea what her words meant! That chance encounter sparked a fascination with all things Welsh. I muddled through some rather musty books on Welsh literature and had the good fortune to stumble across some excellent online resources. The Welsh Society of Fredericksburg opened other doors to me, and I was eventually invited to become a book reviewer for Ninnau, the North American Welsh newspaper. I focused on poetry written in English, and I found myself wondering why more contemporary writers did not explore the rich patterns of the 24 official Welsh meters. It was a challenge I could not resist! The age-old compulsion to tell our stories seems to cry out for the musicality of formal verse, and the Welsh meters have exciting variations that give me chills. Once I started dabbling in those literary jigsaw puzzles, I was well and truly hooked.
For those who would like to explore Welsh bardic meters in depth, I would suggest reading anthologies that include representative pieces from different time periods. With regard to the mechanics, a number of resources are available in print and online. Lewis Turco’s New Book of Forms: A Handbook of Poetics offers a succinct description of every poetic form I have ever encountered. His work, which is international in scope, is an essential reference for any student of poetry or aspiring poet. For those ready to pick up a pen, my article “How to Write a Rhupunt (With Example)” may prove helpful.
How to Write a Rhupunt (with Example) This article details the process of writing the rhupunt, one of the traditional Welsh poetic forms.
The British Isles produced countless other bardic forms that were never codified. A broad exploration was beyond the scope of my book, but those interested in Celtic literary traditions might want to delve into the work of the Irish bards in particular. I have found Gaelic patterns especially challenging to write in English, but I do include a representative form, the rannaigheacht ghairid, in The Language of Bones.
I would caution readers that the popularity of “Celtic” elements in the film and music industries has spawned a number of books that capitalize on the popularity of the term without having a direct connection. Hence, a collection of “Celtic poetry” may have nothing to do with traditional bardic verse.
AmeriCymru: Do you have a personal favorite in your new collection? Is there one poem that stands out for you and if so why?
Elizabeth: Your question made me laugh. My answer changes daily! The technical elements of some of my earlier pieces may wobble in places, but I think that all of the stories shared in The Language of Bones are vitally important. That said, the two poems that leave me in emotional knots at readings are the ones that speak most powerfully of people and events too easily forgotten. “Jane” pays homage to an unknown girl, most likely an indentured servant, who died at Jamestown during the “starving time” of 1609-1610. “At Standing Rock” addresses racial and cultural tensions that remain unresolved as Native Americans speak in defense of the lands they hold by treaty.
AmeriCymru: What's next for Elizabeth Spragins? Any new titles, promotional readings in the works?
Elizabeth: I am thrilled to announce that Shanti Arts Publishing just released my second collection of poetry. With No Bridle for the Breeze: Ungrounded Verse explores the spirit and magic of flight through feathers, paired wings, and dreams. These poems are based on the Japanese tanka form. Additional details are available on the publisher’s website: With No Bridle for the Breeze, Elizabeth Spencer Spragins.
With No Bridle for the Breeze, Elizabeth Spencer Spragins
Another collection of my bardic verse, A Walk with Shades and Shadows, is in search of a publisher. Two other volumes are underway. At the moment my writing studio has several disorganized mountains of promising material, as well as drivel.
As for readings, I am in the process of scheduling several local events and hope to finalize details shortly.
AmeriCymru: Any final message for the readers and members of AmeriCymru?
Elizabeth: Thank you for taking the time to share your day with me through this interview, and thank you for supporting the beautiful elements of Welsh culture that continue to enrich the fabric of our collective heritage. Special thanks to you, Ceri, for inviting me to share my passion for Welsh bardic verse!
Sample Poem from The Language of Bones:
At Standing Rock (A Rhupunt)
The serpent comes.
Its black blood hums
As venom numbs
The lakes and land.
No treaties hold.
The white men sold
Their word for gold
Before they manned
The hungry drill
That pierced Black Hill.
Soon oil will fill
The veins law banned.
They tunneled deep—
Black bile will seep
Where old bones sleep
In sacred sand.
At death, at birth,
Red feet kiss earth.
Her life is worth
The flames we fanned
At Standing Rock.
Our bodies block
The fangs that lock
On Mother’s hand.
Our home we hold
Despite the cold.
We will not fold
On rocks that stand.
~Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, North Dakota
First published in America, We Call Your Name: Poems of Resistance and Resilience. San Francisco, CA: Sixteen Rivers Press, 2018. 95. Print.
Notes:
The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 recognized the sovereignty of the Lakota Sioux over the Great Plains “as long as the river flows and the eagle flies.” The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868 prohibited white settlement in the Black Hills for all time, but the subsequent discovery of gold generated an influx of miners who violated the treaty with impunity.
The Lakota protested construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline on the grounds that the project would contaminate their sole source of drinking water and disrupt their sacred lands. The completed pipeline passes under the Missouri River less than one mile upstream of the Standing Rock Reservation.
A collector
becomes commander
in his top secret militarised mind
a director
of virtual brigades battalions
and cavalry stallions
I revisit my childhood bedroom
its ceiling trailing plastic aircraft models
from drawing pins and fishing gut
how I made my own sky
with dioramas of dogfights
of Hurricane and Stuka
Flying Fortress and Focke Wulf
Spitfire and Messerschmitt
born of glue that got everywhere
until I gave them away to younger cousins
when I thought I ought to have outgrown them
(there were people who were still around then)
decades later I don decals
war paint and sloping armour
having returned to the wheat fields of Prokhorovka
amid the diesel and shell bursts
of the battle of Kursk
sinking back into those earlier times
my 1970s reimagining
of the Great Patriotic War
the faces of my brave toy soldiers
of indeterminate racial representation
their frozen stances somehow
suggesting action
face each other in lines
their bayonets bent in the crush of packaging
loyal to me in outcomes I decide
never dying
I use part of my disposable income to rekindle
the fantasy campaigns of my childish days
acquiring more solid diecast Panzers
half-tracks and anti-aircraft guns
in my camouflage under the radar
still at play in a world
in which my government is a supplier
of armaments that kill children
BB Skone
I first met Malcolm Cawley aka BB Skone over 25 years as a music journalist at a gig in the Officer’s Mess in Pembroke Dock. His writing was erudite, educated and entertainingly witty.
He has become a legend in West Wales for promoting and encouraging musical projects of aspiring performers. His Comprehensive Gig Guide column and gig reviews in local newspapers are always the place to find out what is going on in the music scene. For so many years he broadcast from Radio Pembrokeshire and was an innovator within the music scene: live performances from the smallest studios and always championing local music. He has now moved to Pure West Radio in Haverfordwest and has a two hour show on Sundays.
BB SKONE'S PEMBROKESHIRE MUSIC SHOW
https://www.facebook.com/groups/49393023806/
BB Skone's Pembrokeshire Music Show Page features all you need to know about the Pembrokeshire music scene. BB broadcasts his local music show at 7 p.m. every Sunday on www.purewestradio.com BB also writes for the Western Telegraph.
THOMAS SKEEL – A NAPOLEONIC SOLDIER FROM LAUGHARNE, CARMARTHENSHIRE PART 1
I’ve only ever heard it within the township of Laugharne.
Mother Bear is an exclamation of surprise, similar to the phrase Gordon Bennett! or Cor Blimey!
It began with the chance discovery of a memorial stone in churchyard, which led to finding the diary of Thomas Skeel, born 1781, a farm labourer from Hangman Street, Laugharne. The diary told the story of an ordinary man caught up in extraordinary events. His story deserved to be retold. So came the birth of Mother Bear Community Theatre Group , mixing storytelling with music to relive the history of those that have lived in the unique township on the banks of the River Taf. War, love, lust, murder and more are recalled in the tales from Agincourt to The Second World War. The treatments are presented as pop up theatre.
In this video John tells the story behind his research into the life of Thomas Skeel , landlord of the Ship Inn in Laugharne and relates some of the stories of his young life.
In Part 2, we find out about his adventures in Spain and Portugal, fighting the armies of Napoleon and being wounded at the Battle of Tallavera.
Mother Bear still performs regularly. They are looking to perform a 19th century arsenic murder mystery very soon! In the meantime Mother Bear produces these videos for Americymru – we got a few to go!!!
The Big Spring Beach Clean, Surfers Against Sewage
Freshwater West, Pembrokeshire
April 7th 2019
It’s World Oceans Day, June 8th, and people around our world celebrate and honour the ocean, which connects us all.
https://www.worldoceansday.org
To celebrate we would like to release a video of the Big Spring Beach Clean . It is the UK’s biggest coordinated beach clean activity, which has brought together over 150,000 volunteers over the last five years, contributing an incredible two million hours of volunteer time to protecting and conserving our beaches for everyone to enjoy. These vital community events not only remove dangerous plastics from our unique and precious coastal environment, but also indicate where action needs to be taken further upstream to reduce the leakage into and impact of plastics on our ocean and beaches.
Jaz Strelecki has been a representative for Surfers Against Sewage since she was nine years old. Jaz also helps mum, Anna, run her iSea Surfwear clothing business in Amroth. Jaz is the surfer of the family and has always had a passion for spreading the word about environmental issues and especially beach cleaning.
As lots of groups help to clean Freshwater West already Jaz and Anna decided to focus on the teeny tiny micro plastics and nurdles/mermaids tears, to see how bad it really is on this lovely beach.
Mermaids’ tears, also known as resin pellets or nurdles, are used in the manufacturing of plastic products. S.A.S. identify these plastic pellets as a major source of pollution on Welsh beaches, and their undercover work in plastic factories have identified a route from plastic factories to the beach, via the storm drains.
Kelsay Books has published Elizabeth Spencer Spragins' debut poetry collection, The Language of Bones: American Journeys Through Bardic Verse. This volume features Celtic-style poems representative of many of the official Welsh meters. On this poetic journey from Jamestown, Virginia, to Muir Woods, California, the reader encounters the power of internal and external landscapes where human triumphs and tragedies have woven themselves into the fabric of the terrain. Available from Kelsaybooks.com and on Amazon.
ISBN-13: 978-1-949229-98-1 (Paperback)
VOICES FROM WALES - SIXTEEN OF FIFTY-TWO, THOMAS SKEEL – A NAPOLEONIC SOLDIER FROM LAUGHARNE, CARMARTHENSHIRE PART 1
I’ve only ever heard it within the township of Laugharne.
Mother Bear is an exclamation of surprise, similar to the phrase Gordon Bennett! or Cor Blimey!
It began with the chance discovery of a memorial stone in churchyard, which led to finding the diary of Thomas Skeel, born 1781, a farm labourer from Hangman Street, Laugharne. The diary told the story of an ordinary man caught up in extraordinary events. His story deserved to be retold. So came the birth of Mother Bear Community Theatre Group , mixing storytelling with music to relive the history of those that have lived in the unique township on the banks of the River Taf. War, love, lust, murder and more are recalled in the tales from Agincourt to The Second World War. The treatments are presented as pop up theatre.
In this video John tells the story behind his research into the life of Thomas Skeel , landlord of the Ship Inn in Laugharne and relates some of the stories of his young life.
In Part 2, we find out about his adventures in Spain and Portugal, fighting the armies of Napoleon and being wounded at the Battle of Tallavera.
Mother Bear still performs regularly. They are looking to perform a 19th century arsenic murder mystery very soon! In the meantime Mother Bear produces these videos for Americymru – we got a few to go!!!
The Big Spring Beach Clean, Surfers Against Sewage
Freshwater West, Pembrokeshire
April 7th 2019
It’s World Oceans Day, June 8th, and people around our world celebrate and honour the ocean, which connects us all.
https://www.worldoceansday.org
To celebrate we would like to release a video of the Big Spring Beach Clean . It is the UK’s biggest coordinated beach clean activity, which has brought together over 150,000 volunteers over the last five years, contributing an incredible two million hours of volunteer time to protecting and conserving our beaches for everyone to enjoy. These vital community events not only remove dangerous plastics from our unique and precious coastal environment, but also indicate where action needs to be taken further upstream to reduce the leakage into and impact of plastics on our ocean and beaches.
Jaz Strelecki has been a representative for Surfers Against Sewage since she was nine years old. Jaz also helps mum, Anna, run her iSea Surfwear clothing business in Amroth. Jaz is the surfer of the family and has always had a passion for spreading the word about environmental issues and especially beach cleaning.
As lots of groups help to clean Freshwater West already Jaz and Anna decided to focus on the teeny tiny micro plastics and nurdles/mermaids tears, to see how bad it really is on this lovely beach.
Mermaids’ tears, also known as resin pellets or nurdles, are used in the manufacturing of plastic products. S.A.S. identify these plastic pellets as a major source of pollution on Welsh beaches, and their undercover work in plastic factories have identified a route from plastic factories to the beach, via the storm drains.
No Bones Jones started after Hugh Jones returned from a long period driving an overland tourist bus around India, Nepal and Turkey in the 1980s.
“When he left, he knew little about food or catering, and cared even less. When he came back, he was a man transformed! He seemed to have gone food-mad and enthused at length about the exotic salads, magical spices and fabulous flavours he had discovered in far-flung lands. He seemed to have set his heart on crafting here at home these same delicious, mainly veggie dishes of vibrant colour and fragrance,” says Mark Jones, friend, translator and co-author of the book.
In the meantime, Hugh’s former girlfriend from his school days had started a vegetarian and wholefood café in their home town. With Jill’s cooking experience and Hugh’s new-found love of exotic vegetarian food, together they developed what is now No Bones Jones, a catering company that feeds thousands of happy customers at a host of festivals over the summer months every year – from Glastonbury to the National Eisteddfod of Wales to numerous folk festivals.
“Our aim was to provide a mixed, nutritious vegetarian meal. This was something most unusual in those early days, but it was what we ourselves wanted to eat. We started with two dishes: lentil stew and chickpea curry with brown rice and salad. In 1995 this was considered off piste , but we knew we were on the right track and we’ve never looked back,” says Hugh, who is nowadays a frequent guest on BBC Radio Wales, where he cooks live on air for a following of regular listeners.
No Bones Jones: Festival Cookbook is more than a recipe book as it also discusses the company’s ethos and ideas. The work tirelessly to keep their carbon footprint as low as possible, which has won them the coveted Green Trader Gold Award at Glastonbury (awarded by Greenpeace, the Soil Association, the Fairtrade Foundation and the Nationwide Caterers Association to one out of 400 on-site food traders). Their vehicles run on bio diesel, their lighting is solar-powered, and packaging is kept to a minimum by staples in 20kg sacks, spices by the kilo and all vegetables in returnable crates.
Hugh Jones cites two people as being the main influencers of the company’s approach. The first was his mother:
“Like all mothers of that era, she knew how to prepare a nutritious meal from very little and how to make do and mend. It's nothing new to recycle, reuse and repair. People back then had grown up during the war with very little, so their whole ‘3Rs’ approach was not so much a virtue as a necessity, and at the time was simply called good housekeeping.”
The second was a young Nepalese woman who cooked her dal-bhat (Nepalese lentil and rice dish) on a dried cow dung-fuelled stove in a little shack on the side of the Rajpath, the road leading to Kathmandu, for 3 rupees.
“Barefoot she was with her two young children, but nevertheless successfully eking out a humble living. In her hut I was dining in the original ‘lean start-up’, the antithesis of a modern restaurant and for me far more exciting,” says Hugh.
The book recounts the fascinating and often highly amusing anecdotes behind the discovery and development of their recipes. It also tells the story of a man who got out of his rut and chose a path less trodden. Throughout the book, Hugh’s enthusiasm for distant locations, and his passion for not impacting the planet and for vegetarian food is infectious. Hugh states “you don’t have to be a vegetarian to eat veggie food! You’re not a pigeon, so don’t pigeonhole yourself.”
Hugh and Jill Jones live in Montgomery in Powys, where they were well known in the local community.
Hugh’s lifelong friend Mark Jones is a freelance writer and translator based in Avignon in France.
No Bones Jones: Festival Cookbook by Hugh and Jill Jones with Mark Jones (£12.99, Y Lolfa) is available now.
